Aberdeen fan gang raped in Madrid

An example of how rape is men's violence towards women and not sexual - I don't follow football or fully understand what is happening with the football violence but the "alleged" gang rape of this woman football fan stood out for me.

The female victim, who is understood to be in her late twenties, was reportedly raped by a group of Spanish men as she made her way back to the city-centre hotel where she had been staying. She is believed to have become separated from friends minutes before the attack on Wednesday, the night before the European fixture.

A spokesman for the British Consulate confirmed they had assisted a Scottish woman in connection with an alleged gang rape.

But while Scottish fans have accused Spanish police of heavyhanded tactics, Grampian Police believe known troublemakers who associate themselves with the Pittodrie club travelled to the game with the intention of causing violence.

However, there were no reports of any arrests amongst the Aberdeen supporters.

An estimated 6,000 Aberdeen fans are believed to have made the trip, with only 3,000 tickets officially allocated.

At least one fan, Ian Bremner, a father of two, was taken to hospital during clashes in the Spanish capital.

Friends of the 38-year-old project manager, originally from Buckie, Moray, who now works in Denmark, claimed yesterday he was repeatedly struck over the head by police armed with batons as he made his way to Vicente Calderón stadium for the game.

Lindsay Bartlet, 45, who was with Mr Bremner at the time, said: "It was way over the top for the police to charge at us like that; it was completely unprovoked."

It is understood Mr Bremner was due to be discharged from the Clinico San Carlos Madrid Hospital last night.

John Morgan, Aberdeen FC's head of security, said he witnessed a child of about ten being hit with a baton, and also saw women being struck.

Superintendent Adrian Watson, of Grampian Police, said: "There was a clash between fans and the Spanish police, but the trouble was limited to a small number of troublemakers. This small group travelled to Madrid with the intention of causing trouble."

Four Grampian Police officers were in Madrid to assist the Spanish police. Mr Watson said they were now making efforts to obtain CCTV footage of the violence.

Dave Macdermid, a spokesman for Aberdeen FC, said the club was to write to Uefa.

He said: "There is no doubt there were problems with violence, but it was limited to a small number of people.

"Most of the fans behaved impeccably and I would like to thank them for that. Unfortunately, there was a small number that did not and that is where the violence stemmed from."

The Spanish media reported yesterday that at least 17 people had suffered injuries during the trouble, which saw riot police try to control the crowd after flares, bottles and other objects were thrown.

One Aberdeen supporter told of fights in the stand and violent clashes outside of the ground.

This is not the first time this has happened - these telly programmes seem to mostly based on abuse dressed up as misunderstandings,communication problems or relationship difficulties. If we stopped watchin then that would give a clear message and if you must watch phone in and complain that you feel that the woman has been put at risk and the show is behaving unethically and is concluding with the perpetrator.

Svetlana Orlova had no idea why she had been invited on to the daytime television show and she was shocked to find herself face to face with the man who had beaten her for years.
She was further stunned when he produced an engagement ring and proposed. Looking deeply uncomfortable, she shook her head.
The public rebuff cost her her life. Within days she had been stabbed to death and her former lover was under arrest for murder.
Now ministers in Spain are to hold crisis talks with broadcasters as the nation searches its soul over its trashy television culture.
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Ricardo Navarro, 30, had told Patricia’s Daily Show, which has an audience of 2 million, that he and Ms Orlova had broken up because of a dispute over money. Ms Orlova contested that, saying: “There were many other things”, but without elaborating or mentioning that she had a restraining order against her former boyfriend.
Undeterred, Mr Navarro went on bended knee and asked her to marry him. “Come back,” he said sounding tearful, as the audience cooed. “You are everything for me.”
Ms Orlova shook her head slightly. “Well Svetlana, say something!” the host exclaimed. “We are all on tenter-hooks. Is that ‘no’, or ‘I don’t know’? Say it clearly.”
Five days later Mr Navarro was arrested after allegedly stabbing Ms Orlova repeatedly in the neck. She died in hospital.
Baldomero Limón of Boomerang, the production company responsible for the programme, said that producers were “devastated”, but denied any responsibility in Ms Orlova’s death, saying that they were also deceived by Mr Navarro. “Nothing made us suspect that a tragedy like this could occur.”
Viewers’ groups have called for the show to be taken off the air.
It is not the first time that a woman has been killed after appearing on Spanish television shows. In 1997, Ana Orantes, 60, was doused with petrol and burnt alive by her husband, José Parejo. Unable to get any help from the authorities, she had gone on a television show to speak of the beatings that she endured at his hands. In November 2004, Andrés Reyes killed his 18-year-old girlfriend after she appeared on a television show to speak about his abuse of her.
The Spanish Government has named the high rate of violence against women in Spain a priority and wants broadcasters to draw up a code of conduct for these programmes. “Domestic violence should not be a television spectacle,” MarÍa Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the Deputy Prime Minister, said.
Sixty-nine women have been killed by their partners this year. Despite government efforts, Spanish judges are accused of being sympathetic to men who are violent towards their partners. Women’s rights groups expressed outrage last week after a judge gave a reduced sentence to Mariano Navas, who stabbed his girlfriend in 2005, citing his “humiliation” on Patricia’s Daily Show as mitigating factor.